Also find us on
Make a donation
to PHS
Introducing
The Institute
of Polish
Military History
A message from our President, General Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank
'I am delighted to be associated with the work of the Polish Heritage Society and very honoured to serve as its President. The Society's work highlights the enormous contribution which generations of Poles have made to their adopted country. Preserving and celebrating that heritage will only further strengthen the ties between Poland and the United Kingdom.
I worked closely with the Society on the project to build a memorial to the Polish Forces at the National Memorial Arboretum and saw at first hand the energy and dedication of those involved.
I encourage you to explore this website and learn about the many other projects the Society has sponsored. Do please contact us if you would like to be involved in any way'.
General The Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank GCB LVO OBE
A Debt of Dishonour is a unique documentary film dedicated Major General Sosabowski and all ranks who served in the 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade Group and to their Comrades-in-Arms of the 1st British Airborne Division that fought in the ill-fated “Operation Market Garden” at Arnhem and Driel during September 1944.
Sto Lat-Albert Hall
The Polish Heritage Society
Restortation of the graves of Gen. Brygady Jan Tomasz Gorzechowski "JUR" and an Un-named Polish Soldier
June 2017: Following 2.5 years of hard work, Polish Heritage Society UK completed one of the longest and most demanding restroration projects at Brookwood, Surrey. Graves of Gen Brygady Jan Tomasz Gorzechowski "JUR", and also the grave of an Un-named Polish Soldier - now identified as Wachmistrz Wladyslaw Kopytnicki, of II Korpus.
While renovation work was being carried out on a grave in Brookwood Cemetery at the request of the Polish Ministry of Defence in Warsaw and The Embassy od Republic of Poland in London, a member of the committee of The Polish Heritage Society UK, an English Charity “with a Polish heart”, came across the grave of an un-named Polish soldier.
The committee unanimously decided that this matter had to be dealt with immediately. Here was a Polish Soldier who had fought in the Polish Army in WWII under British Command, died and lay buried on foreign soil without a name or proper grave. The cemetery records were made available to us and we were able to find the details of this burial.
It gives us great pleasure to be able to give Władysław Kopytnicki (1901-1963) the grave he has deserved for nearly 60 years. A memorial mass and blessing of the grave was held on Wednesday 7th June 2017 and the celebrant was Rev Father Canon Dr Wladyslaw Wyszowadzki, the Vice Rector of the Polish Catholic Mission to England and Wales. As our main memorial project this year, this grave has been funded by The Polish Heritage Society UK with donations made throughout 2017.
